New York Academy of Medicine

Compared to U.S. born residents, immigrants and their families have limited access to health care services. Community-based organizations (CBOs) are key institutions within many immigrant communities that can provide educational, navigational, and advocacy services that facilitate improved access to care for individual clients and for immigrants overall. The New York Academy of Medicine’s (NYAM’s) Center for Evaluation evaluated the implementation and the effectiveness of the New York Immigration Coalition’s (NYIC) “Strengthening the Capacity of Immigrant Organizations to Link Uninsured Immigrants to Health Care and Insurance” project. Working within the framework of a Health Collaborative that includes nine community-based organizations, two pro bono legal service partners, and NYIC, the project provides education and training to health advocates who, in turn, assist immigrant New Yorkers with accessing health care and insurance coverage. The evaluation provided specific knowledge regarding program impact and more general knowledge regarding the effectiveness of a particular model of training and outreach on health care access.

Read about the New York Immigration Coalition’s “Strengthening the Capacity of Immigrant Organizations to Link Uninsured Immigrants to Health Care and Insurance” project.

The New York Academy of Medicine will evaluate a project being conducted by the New York Immigration Coalition with New York Health Foundation funding—Strengthening the Capacity of Immigrant Organizations to Link Uninsured Immigrants to Health Care and Insurance.

The New York Academy of Medicine is an independent, non-partisan, non-profit institution whose mission is to enhance the health of the public. Its research and education seek to improve the health of people living in cities, especially disadvantaged and vulnerable populations. The New York Academy of Medicine will evaluate the a Special Opportunities initiative project being conducted by the New York Immigration Coalition with New York Health Foundation funding—Strengthening the Capacity of Immigrant Organizations to Link Uninsured Immigrants to Health Care and Insurance. The New York Immigration Coalition project seeks to build capacity within immigrant community organizations to address the health access needs of their constituents by partnering with 11 immigrant community groups. The goal of the work is to engage in an intensive, multi-lingual outreach and education campaign to demystify health care and insurance and educate community groups on options for affordable care. Please click here to learn more about the New York Immigration Coalition project.

The New York Academy will conduct both process and outcome evaluations of the New York Immigration Coalition project. This work will include gathering written documentation from and interviewing the New York Immigration Coalition and the 11 collaborating immigrant community groups to identify client services provided and their outcomes (e.g., enrollment in health insurance and referral to care). As part of this work, the New York Academy of Medicine will identify and collect data from three comparison organizations. The evaluation will also gather data on implementation processes associated with the project and conduct surveys of immigrant community group staff to assess competencies, changes in practice, and outreach activities generated by the New York Immigration Coalition project. Data will be analyzed to determine the project’s impact.